


I Won't Sing ('cause I'd Take Your Breath Away)

by Niniel_Kirkland



Category: Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, Karaoke, M/M, No Spoilers, Post-Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 13:05:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15631263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niniel_Kirkland/pseuds/Niniel_Kirkland
Summary: When Ethan suggested the agents hung out between missions, Will agreed. When Jane suggested they had some fun and booze, Will agreed. When Benji suggested they went for a karaoke, Will freaked out. When the three others agreed like overexcited children going to Disneyworld for the first time, Will panicked. But hey, karaoke night. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything, according to William Brandt.





	I Won't Sing ('cause I'd Take Your Breath Away)

**Author's Note:**

> A few days ago, I rediscovered what an amazing singer Jeremy Renner is. And thought of what would happen if William Brandt was just as talented. Then this one-shot happened.  
> I usually write in French, this is my first 2k words story in English, and my first step in the Mission: Impossible fandom. I hope you'll like it!

* * *

 

When Ethan suggested the agents hung out between missions, Will agreed. When Jane suggested they had some fun and booze, Will agreed. When Benji suggested they went for a karaoke, Will freaked out. When the three others agreed like overexcited children going to Disneyworld for the first time, Will panicked. But hey, karaoke night. “ _Come on, let’s have some fun, Will !”_ “ _What could possibly go wrong, love?”_ Well, everything, according to William Brandt.

He barely slept the night before -only the sight of Ethan, peacefully asleep by his side, had kept him from overthinking all of it again. And the sun rose, and the fateful day arrived. He spent it working out. Early morning run, longer than ever. Intense stretching session afterwards, before going to the gym with Ethan for a few hours of push-ups, weight training, martial arts. As the hours went by, William could feel his stress level increase. The worst part? That was upsetting him. To be terrified of simply lifting a mic in front of his friends, in front of his _colleagues_. He killed bad guys almost every day, dammit! But he was pretty sure he couldn’t do that. Singing. In front of his fellow agents, in front of Ethan. They were going to that karaoke bar for fun, to make fools of themselves, simply because they couldn’t sing.

William Brandt could sing. Very well, at that. He had had piano and solfege lessons as a kid. Since then, he was able to sing in tune, and he knew he had a powerful, deep voice, somewhere between the bass and the barytone. He wasn’t ashamed of his ability, but still. He wasn’t comfortable with his colleagues -and, without a doubt, soon the whole IMF if not the whole CIA- learning about this surprising fact about the serious, deadly serious and badass agent Brandt. He was a trained fighter, a killer, who just happened to be -also- able to sing so well that he could make his audience shiver through the tragic tones of his voice when he allowed it to sink into a sorrowful song’s atmosphere. That had rarely happened in the past few years. Mostly, those who had heard him perform were ex-lovers, who had no idea of who he really was in the field. In the past, it had been easier to open up and just sing, for his audience and his own entertainment. They couldn’t see the contradiction between the cold-blooded soldier and the astonishing singer.

But oh man, tonight they would see that and William was not ready.

He was sweating a bit more than usual when they arrived to the karaoke bar and met up with Benji and Jane. A waiter led them to a little room of their own, way too small to Will’s taste. A wide screen on the wall was ready to display the lyrics of the songs they’d choose from the computer on the table. They sat on a couch, the three enthusiasts picking their songs right away, already oblivious of the waiter waiting for their order. Will took care of it and ordered four Guinness.

Jane was already singing a funny rendition of _Wannabe_ when the drinks arrived. She was completely into it, exaggerating her moves to make them laugh. William gave in for a little while, because she wasn’t a bad singer but she was pretending to be, for the fun of it. She made Ethan part of her show and winked a lot to Will when she got a bit flirtatious, accordingly to the lyrics. Will tried to get in the mood, while in a corner of his mind, he couldn’t help but making up hundreds of excuses not to sing the next song. And he almost drank his whole beer during Jane’s song. He wished he had picked something stronger than a Guinness. If he was to sing -and he had very little chance to get out of the bar without singing- he would do it wasted or not at all.

Luckily, Benji came to the rescue by insisting on singing the next one. Once _Wannabe_ was over, Jane earned a lot of applause and Benji jumped on his feet, picked his song, and started clapping. Ethan burst into laughter when he recognized _In the Navy_. It was all so Benji, singing this comic song with a straight face and acting the lyrics in this ridiculously endearing manner of his. When the song was over, they needed a few minutes to calm down from their laughter, and Benji got the recognition he deserved.

“Will! Your turn?” Ethan asked.

“After you, boss!” his boyfriend retorted, trying to keep a straight face while the panic was rising in his chest at the possibility of being forced to sing the next one.

“You asked for it,” Hunt laughed.

He got up, took the mic, and started to sing _Oh, pretty woman_. Except he changed the lyrics to _Oh, pretty William_. As if he needed another embarrassing event tonight! (Still, it was hella cute and William blushed when Ethan, pitching his voice unnecessarily high, sang _“Pretty William, give your smile to me, pretty William, yeah, yeah, yeah, pretty William look my way, pretty William say you'll stay with me 'cause I need you, I'll treat you right, come with me baby, be mine tonight”_ while staring straight at him.) He was a terrible singer. He finished with a kiss on his pretty William’s lips, who couldn’t help but smile.

“Woah! So there’s something I’m better at than Ethan Hunt! That’s comforting! That dude could just happen to be human, in the end!” Benji teased him.

Will didn’t hear the answer their boss gave him, because he was giving him the mic. He freaked out a bit and picked up his empty glass from the table.

“Anyone fancies another drink?” he asked, dying to get a positive answer.

“Oh yes! Can I have a Margarita? Thank you, you’re so sweet,” Benji said and saved his life.

“If they have Bourbon… Make it double for me,” Jane winked.

William left the tiny room and they started duets. A Bourbon. A double Bourbon. That was an amazing idea. The analyst got to the bar and ordered the cocktail for Benji, and three double Bourbons. He swallowed the first in one take, right there in front of the bartender. He went back to their room with the two remaining whiskeys and Benji’s margarita. Benji and Ethan were singing _Never Gonna Give You Up_ while Jane was filming them with her phone. William smiled. She would certainly hear more of her own laugh than the actual performance of the men on the video, but maybe it was for the best.

She took a sip of her Bourbon before jumping on her feet to the sound of _It’s Raining Men_ and Ethan kept singing with her, having a blast much to Benji and Will’s entertainment -he could feel, as the burning taste of alcohol went from his throat down to his whole body, that he was finally getting a bit in the mood.

Another song ended though, and William felt that he couldn’t escape it for much longer. Jane handed him the mic this time and he looked at it for a few seconds, confused. He blinked and said:

“I must go to the loo. Sorry!”

Ethan looked disappointed, but Benji and Jane didn’t mind yet. They started a quite convincing cover of ABBA’s _Why Did It Have To Be Me?_ while he elaborated a strategy to get his lover to sing. A duet with him would make him feel at ease, perhaps. He was, after all, the worst singer in the room. William couldn’t possibly top his terrible skills, so what was making it so hard for him to just get up and sing?

In the bathroom, William splashed some water on his face. He could do this. He could do this. Or he could find another excuse. It would be fine. Or he could just oblige to the voice in his head telling him to stop breathing, that would solve everything.

But he walked into the room once again, and they weren’t singing anymore. Benji and Jane were resting after their last performance. Ethan was standing in front of the door, a mic in each hand. He handed one to Will as he got back, and kept the other. Will felt the panic in his chest again, the mic heavy in his hand. But Ethan smiled, and it meant “ _I know you’re scared but as long as I’m with you, you won’t make a fool of yourself_.” That wasn’t what William was afraid of, but how could Ethan possibly think that he was scared to be too good at it, and not the opposite? Still, his lover wanted to reassure him, and it was truly touching.

The music started and Will focused to the screen displaying the lyrics. “ _It's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do, hey baby, I think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice, who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you.”_ It was only when the chorus started that Ethan, displaying his poor singing skills on purpose, heard the song coming from his boyfriend’s mouth and fell silent. Jane and Benji were astonished, looking at William in awe over the glasses they had completely forgotten to drink. William kept singing for a verse then stopped when he figured out Ethan was no longer singing along. He turned to his colleagues and dared to ask:

“What?”

“Will, I’m… Woah, it’s… Your voice! You’re an amazing singer! How come I never knew that?!” Ethan answered.

“It’s not really the kind of skills you’d expect from an IMF agent, right?”

“Who knows! Maybe next time you’ll serenade a rich guy!” Benji protested. “You’re awesome, Will! Hell yes, you’re awesome!”

“Why were you so terrified to sing?” Jane inquired.

“Was terrified that you’d… You know, judge me or make fun of me or whatever.”

“Will, it happens too often to hear good singers in karaoke sessions to make fun of them!”

“Thank you, Jane.”

“Please, Will. Sing for us,” Ethan requested with a soft smile and admiration in his eyes.

“No, please, I…’’

“Yes, please.”

Puppy eyes. William sighed, then laughed.

“Well… You asked for it.”

He picked up a song from the list and sighed again. That was it. He’d do it. No more retreat to the bar nor to the loo now. It was for real. He was feeling the dizziness of alcohol in his brain and felt as if remembering or even reading the lyrics would be too much.

_“A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.”_

For a moment, he thought that he couldn’t do it. The first words almost stayed in his mouth, that stress, alcohol and lack of practice had made dry. But it got out eventually. And he let the cheery tunes of the song take him away, oblivious of the dark lyrics. Soon, his three friends started to sing along without a mic, following his lead, and it got easier for him to let go of his inhibitions. They were with him. They were loving it. They were enjoying it. They were having fun thanks to him! And to be fair, he was enjoying it a lot too. He loved the singing, and he loved to see their smiles, blooming on their faces thanks to him. (Okay, Ethan’s eyes on him, _everywhere_ on him were just as enjoyable.) Soon it turned into a quartet.

“ _We started singin' bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye and singin' this'll be the day that I die this'll be the day that I die._ ”

William had forgotten how long that song was, so long that it sounded never-ending. When he was finally done singing all the lyrics, he sat down on the couch with a sigh of relief and drank what was left of his Bourbon. But they cheered so much that he stood up again and agreed to another song.

“Do something cheesy for Ethan!!” Benji requested.

“Why am I not even surprised you’d ask that.”

Jane chose the song for him and he rolled his eyes when Ed Sheeran’s _Thinking Out Loud_ started.

“Alright, let’s do this…”

And he sang the full love song, making it sound funny sometimes, most times romantic, and always vocally perfect. And Ethan watched the whole thing with a tender look and a bright smile. Man, he, too, was falling in love with him every single day.

.

.

.

When they went to bed in the wee hours of the morning, after a long night of singing that almost destroyed their voices, William said:

“It was fun, in the end.”

“Will, are you drunk?”

“I’m not! Or am I? Anyway it was still fun!”

“Yes. We should do that more often.”

“Oh my god. If you sing once again, I’ll shut you up with _Killing me softly with his song_ ,” William warned him between two bursts of laughter.

“Don’t tempt me, I would do anything to hear you sing again.”

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Some musical references:  
> I had no idea of how to name this so this crappy reference to Top Gun's soundtrack "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin happened. Sorry!  
> Also : "Wannabe" by the Spicegirls, "In the Navy" by Village People, "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison, "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Hasley, "It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls, "Marry You" by Bruno Mars, "American Pie" by Don Mclean, and "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran. I chose these two last songs because Jeremy Renner did sing them. He sang "American Pie" in the movie Love Comes To the Executioner and a parody of Thinking Out Loud on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.  
> And "Killing Me Softly With His Song" has been sung by Roberta Flack.  
> Thank you for reading, some feedback would be highly appreciated!  
> ___  
> As I am now aware of, Tom Cruise is in fact an amazing singer (check him out in Rock of Ages) and Ethan is a bad singer for comedic purposes ;)


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